Castillo de Moraira

The Castillo de Moraira sits on a small rocky headland overlooking L'Ampolla beach and the whole of Moraira Bay, in the municipality of Teulada-Moraira. For years it was thought to date from the 16th century, but the 1742 date carved into its Bourbon coat of arms places its construction under the reign of Philip V; it was already under construction in 1741, and by 1744 the engineer Nicolás Bodin was directing the work.

An 18th-century coastal defence

It was part of a coastal defence system built along the Alicante shoreline to protect the population from Barbary pirate raids, which remained frequent in the area well into the 18th century. Its "ox-hoof" plan has a semicircular façade facing south and a single door on the north side; the walls, about ten metres high and notably thick, hold openings for cannons and just four small windows, enough to light the interior without weakening the defence.

Today the castle can be visited inside and offers one of the best views over Moraira's harbour and town centre. It's a short distance from the Iglesia de Santa Catalina Mártir, another defensive building from the same era of pirate threat, and from the Marjal del Senillar, the municipality's nature reserve.